You are never the only one to remain faithful to God. You have brothers and sisters who never once give and bow their knee. God’s true people never become intimate with and accepting of evil. No matter how outnumbered or alone you feel.

Abraham rushed around the camp getting dinner together for three men. These men, often considered angels by Biblical scholars, came into Abraham and Sarah’s life for a very brief season. They left behind the God-given promise of an infant born within twelve months to the venerable couple. Abraham unwittingly entertained angels. Have you, or are you now, doing the same?

I am fond of the phase, “When God does not send angels, He sends men and women.” You cannot know the impact a kind gesture has in someone’s life. Conversely, who has helped you at key moments in your journey? Your miracle may have been delivered by an obedient Gospel brother or sister.

Perhaps God’s instrument of blessing and advancement is known to you. Bless and honor them for their obedience to God and you. Cherish the time you have and release them to their next assignment with (tearful) joy and singing.

Even if you do not see them, God has put His powerful agents in your life. God’s faithful ones are obediently doing their part. Honor their sacrifice and do your part as well.

Some of God’s “angels” are flesh-and-blood, just like you. Human or heavenly, they are only in your life for a season. Work your mission and be grateful for those who bless you in God’s work as they pass through.

Think: Who has God put in this season of my life, and why?

Pray: “Lord, thank you for the help of angels or Gospel sisters and brothers in this season.”

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Ephesians 5:31 NKJV

Children are born helpless and vulnerable. Without the care and nurturing of a parent (or two) they would not survive. Yet, that is only a season in their lives. If parents are successful, weak and dependent kids become strong and independent adults.

Parents are in the lives of their children, for a season. Saints are in the lives of other saints, seekers and sinners for a season. What impact do you have while you have them? What legacy do you leave when they are gone?

You are in the lives of people for a limited time. Often, your time of direct and personal influence and interaction is shorter than you think (or possibly want). Whether you are ready, or not, your offspring, students, colleagues, or protégés will move into a new season in their lives.

Have you fulfilled your God-given purpose for the time you had? How will they explain your impact and legacy to other people, or even themselves? God only loaned them to you. Are they better for their time with you? What will God say when you return them to Him?

You are not responsible for the choices they make, but you are responsible for your teaching and example. They may not understand at first, but you understand now. What impact did you have in their lives? Look past the empty cradle, classroom or work floor to the Kingdom impact.

Think: Am I fulfilling my God-given purpose in this season of their lives?

Pray: “Lord, help me to faithfully build Your Kingdom in them, in this season.”

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Galatians 6:9 NKJV

Would it be crazy if autumn did not follow summer? No matter how joyous and relaxing the summer, autumn will come. Whatever is happening now, a new season in your life will come. Hard work or ease, placid or chaotic, God loves you and is guiding your walk with Him.

No matter how difficult a season is, unless Jesus returns, there will be a better season in your life. Unfortunately, easy and pleasing seasons will give way to harder seasons. No matter the caliber of a particular time in your life, God remains unchanging and deeply involved in your journey.

Do not confuse your tears with God’s absence. He is there, no matter how much you sweat in your labors. Even when your blood is part of the sacrifice, remember that He gave His blood first.

Father-God remains with us, and loves us, no matter our place or space. The redemption Jesus bought for us remains ours through every celebration, grief or episode. The consolation and empowerment of the Holy Spirit is always with us. Disciples of Jesus Christ can face anything and be victorious.

The seasons will change. God remains the same. Rest assured, He has a loving plan for you in this season and the next. Go confidently in Him from where you are to where you are going.

Think: In every season, God is with me.

Pray: “Lord, help me to faithfully build Your Kingdom in this season.”

Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”

Daniel 6:21–22 NKJV
Read also Daniel 6:1–24

The angel snapped his fingers to get the lions’ attention. “You are going to host Daniel for the night. Sorry, but you will be hungry for the evening.” The lion roars were deafening.

“If you are going to respond like that, then you don’t get to open your mouths until tomorrow.” After another snap of his fingers, complete silence fell on the lions’ den.

Daniel landed face down in the lions’ den, because he prayed. His faith and faithfulness would not allow him to hide. His love of God exceeded his fear of a powerful king, treacherous courtiers or hungry predators.

Godly people are, at times, thrown to the lions. Too often, we are punished for doing the right thing. Even men and women of the strongest faith are not eager for an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter with several Panthera leo.

God does not always deliver us from the lions’ den. I wish I could tell you we are never lion chow. What I can promise is that no matter where we go, or what we face, God’s will and grace remains sovereign.

Quiet lions greeted Daniel. There may be lions roaring in your life, but the God of Daniel, your Father-God, can lead you in quiet security. Walk with God, even among the predators.

Be still, and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalms 46:10 NKJV
Please also read Psalms 46:1–11

In these days of unending motion and turmoil, Scripture commands us to be still and know. While knowing requires some level of contemplation, that is not point of this verse, or chapter, of Psalms. Do you have a complete, instinctual and unshakable knowledge of God? Do you truly understand His unending power and absolute authority over all creation, especially your personal affairs?

As a Christian, you should have a deep and absolute knowledge of the fact of God’s power and authority. You should no more question the absolute greatness of God than the existence of gravity. After all, gravity is just one of many concepts He casually made up while creating the universe.

Christians do not seek the rules for their own sake. We pursue the Rules-Maker. What understanding we glean from the world simply magnifies His majesty.

Stop and take a few minutes to re-consider the immeasurable length, depth and breadth of our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God. Reserve in your heart and mind an unmovable and unshakable knowledge of who He is and what He can do. In that paused moment decide, once and for all, how that knowledge will influence your everyday thoughts and actions.

God allows us to act with a great level of freedom. Do not confuse God’s restraint and allowance with a lack of power or authority. His grace and love is so great He does not make us, or them, robots.

Pause for a moment. Think about Him. Know that He is God

Think: I should stop and remember that God is a great and powerful God.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

Job 13:15 NKJV

In the space of a day, maybe a week, Job lost everything a man can lose. Job’s children died, his wealth destroyed or stolen, business wrecked, health lost and even his friends turned on him. Still, Job declared, “Yet will I trust Him.”

Authentic trust and true love are an active choice, not passing feelings. Rich or poor, well or sick, do you love God first and truly? It is easy to trust someone or something that heaps only blessings on you. What happens when the flow reverses is the real test.

Battered and beaten, seemingly past human endurance, Job declared his faith in God. Eyes and sores weeping in equal measure, a mere man decided that the God of heaven continued to have his confidence. Armed with Scripture and empowered by the Holy Spirit, am I capable of the same naked faithfulness. Are you prepared to love God despite what he allows to happen in and to your life?

What would happen if the first two chapters of Job happened to you? Would you remain faithful to the God of heaven? Would you continue to love God, despite your losses and wounds?

Job illustrates the standard for trust in God. There will come a time in your life when you will have to declare for or against God. Will you continue to trust and love God despite the hurts and losses of the short run?

Think: Do I really trust God through bad times?

Pray: “Lord, help me to always trust You, no matter the circumstances.”

So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

1 Kings 18:28–29 NKJV
Please also read 1 Kings 18:18–30

The prophets of Ba’al did not stand a chance. They cried out to a lifeless idol. Their numbers, hysteria and blood-letting did not add to the chance of Ba’al appearing or answering. Instead, they received what a block of wood (or stone, or metal) could give: silence.

Who (or what) do you cry out to? Do you appeal to financial resources or political power when you need an answer? Do you appeal to aspects of a bygone era for a solution? Are you getting a response?

God’s people should cry out to God, not for financial resources. We should always make our first and only appeal to our Savior, Jesus Christ, not the ballot box. We should always cry out for His truth and righteousness, not our flawed memory or slanted histories of years past.

I guarantee He will respond. We may not immediately like His answers, but they are the loving responses of our faithful Father-God. Father-God is always listening for our voices. Are you listening to His voice?

Think: I do not appeal to heaven or elsewhere. I appeal to Father-God and His Son, Jesus.

“Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”

1 Kings 18:24 NKJV
Please also read 1 Kings 18:18–24

How would you confront a murderous pagan heresy and wrestle your nation back to true and devout worship? With political maneuvering and power? Through economic dominance and manipulation? Elijah, a true and faithful prophet of God, chose to call on the Name of God.

Elijah did not seek a palace coup. Scripture does not record that he organized nationwide political or economic movements. Instead, alone and outnumbered, Elijah chose to call on the Name of God.

Too often it appears that God’s people confuse good human stewardship with God’s power. I encourage you to righteously and wisely gather, husband and make use of resources. Still, whatever financial, social or political assets come into your hands may be God’s provision, but they are not God’s power. God is infinitely bigger than anything mere men and women can control or manipulate.

Faith takes action. Choosing to appear before Ahab was an act of obedience. Calling for the showdown with the prophets of Baal was an act of faith in God’s guidance. Elijah placed himself in a situation far beyond any human means of rescue or retreat. God’s prophet was confident in God’s power and sovereignty.

Does God enjoy your trust and confidence? Are you willing to be His agent and instrument in this modern age? Call on the Name of God, then work and act in true belief and complete confidence in His power.

Think: We conquer the nations for God’s Kingdom through the Name and power of God.

Pray: “Lord, help me to daily work in obedience, belief, and faith in Your great Name.”

Philemon looked from Paul’s letter to Onesimus’ face. Paul, who may have still had a negative reputation among some Christians, asked his Gospel son to take in a Gospel brother. On faith alone, Paul asked Philemon to simply accept and forgive the man who robbed him.

Philemon is arguably the most communication in Scripture. Paul sends Onesimus, an escaped slave, back home to Philemon, his owner. It is implied in the epistle, though not explicit, that Onesimus stole something during his escape.

Paul had to trust Onesimus to go back to his owner. Philemon had to trust Paul’s judgment and Onesimus’ change in character. Onesimus had to trust Paul’s judgment and Philemon’s generous and forgiving character. Do you see the thread?

Somewhere or sometime during your Christian walk, you will need to take someone on faith. You will have to trust that they are who they say they are, now. No matter what you feel, remember or see.

The most calculated judgments always carry a risk. You can never know for certain that it is really different now. You will have to take the chance that the words and character match and are real. You will have to open your arms, and heart, on faith alone.

Think: Only faith with serve for some actions.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to have faith in Your people, not just You.”

What do you hear when someone speaks of “God’s divine direction?” Does the pillar of fire and smoke come to mind? What is the form and format of moving forward in God?

God’s direction and guidance can indeed be miraculous and mystical. Scripture is too full of examples to say otherwise. Still, the visitation of angels is not part of a usual day in an office cubicle. A glory-cloud does not often appear while driving to the supermarket.

Does God only speak to Biblical heroes? What about the rest of us? How do mere men and women like us receive guidance? Does God only speak to the high and mighty among us?

Your easiest and fastest route to God is His Word. Study Scripture, regularly and often. In those moments of reverent quiet, He will speak with you. Hidden in study, God will find you.

It is not that hard or difficult. You can seek God’s direction for your life, today. You do not have to be a spiritual giant to have His Word in your life. His guidance is not for a favorite few.

All you have to do is decide you want God’s direction in your life. The only entrance fee is your willingness to make study of His Word a priority for your life. If you seek Him, He will find you. His Word promises you that.

Think: I can have God’s direction for my life through study of His Word.

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Luke 12:7 (KJV)

Matthew 10:30-31 repeats this passage from Luke’s Gospel almost exactly. Anytime Scripture repeats, you can count on it being important. And what could be more important, than the fact that you are important to God?

You are significant. You are important. You matter to God.

God peers through fog, rain and darkest night for your face. Despite the noise and clatter of churning stars and whirling galaxies, He listens intently for your voice. With all the universe requires of Him, nothing commands God’s attention like you.

Perhaps things have not gone your way in recent days. It could be that you have found yourself feeling lost and ignored. Nothing could be further from the truth.

All it takes is a moment. A second or two of facing toward a loving God who longs to hear from you. What could be more comforting? What could be more reassuring?

No matter what has gone short, or missing, or wrong, God is there. His eternal Hands are around you. As much as He cares for sparrows, He cares so very much more for you.

Think: God is concerned for me.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to have confidence in Your love and concern for me.”